Solar+System+-+RO

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 * ||||= [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/The_Sun_by_the_Atmospheric_Imaging_Assembly_of_NASA%27s_Solar_Dynamics_Observatory_-_20100819.jpg/290px-The_Sun_by_the_Atmospheric_Imaging_Assembly_of_NASA%27s_Solar_Dynamics_Observatory_-_20100819.jpg width="136" height="109" caption="The Sun by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory - 20100819.jpg" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Sun_by_the_Atmospheric_Imaging_Assembly_of_NASA%27s_Solar_Dynamics_Observatory_-_20100819.jpg"]] ||
 * ~ **sun** || ||  ||



**Works Cited** **Sources** : Include the source information for all of the magazine articles, reference sources (encyclopedias) and web site pages that were used to complete your project. The source information for encyclopedias may be found at the end or beginning of each entry in iCONN. When using periodicals, the publication information will be at the beginning or end of the article. This needs to be formatted for MLA standards. If it is not labeled 'Source Citation' it can be formatted appropriately by using EasyBib.com. You should use EasyBib for the web sites. The final Works Cited should be listed in alphabetical order by the first word of the source citation. "Milky Way." //Kids InfoBits Presents: Astronomy//. Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Kids InfoBits. Detroit: Gale, 2012. "The Milky Way." //WMAP's Universe//. NASA, 28 June 2010. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. . Vergano, Dan. "Galaxy Bracketed by Big Bubbles." //USA Today// 10 Nov. 2010: 05A. Web. 6 Mar. 2012.
 * Sample:**


 * Your Source List:**
 * ===[|//Solar System// - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]===

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/**Solar**_**System** [|Cached] - [|Similar] You +1'd this publicly. [|Undo] The //Solar System// consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant **...** [|List of Solar System objects by ...] - [|Solar system model] - [|Category:Solar System]
 * ===[|//Sun// - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]===

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/**Sun** [|Cached] - [|Similar] You +1'd this publicly. [|Undo] The //Sun// is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields. It has a diameter **...** [|Sun dog] - [|Template:Solar System ...] - [|Template talk:Solar System ...] - [|Sól]
 * ===[|NASA - //Mars//]===

www.nasa.gov/**mars**/ [|Cached] - [|Similar] You +1'd this publicly. [|Undo] NASA's //Mars// Odyssey, the longest-working spacecraft ever sent to //Mars//, has now been sending home **...** Figueroa to Lead New //Mars// Program Planning Group **...**
 * ===[|//Saturn// - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]===

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/**Saturn** [|Cached] - [|Similar] You +1'd this publicly. [|Undo] //Saturn// is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Name

**Topic: Research Focus**
 * What is your topic?The whole solar system**
 * State the focus of your research:On the sun mercury mars venus earth jupider saturn uranus neptune**

**Notes** ==== Include notes, statistics and facts that you will use to write your final paper. You may want to label sections of your notes to help you be more organized as you write. As you take notes from a source, you should list the source citation in the **Works Cited** section above. ====

The Sun is by far the [|largest] object in the solar system. It contains more than 99.8% of the total mass of the Solar System ([|Jupiter]contains most of the rest). It is often said that the Sun is an "ordinary" star. That's true in the sense that there are many others similar to it. But there are many more smaller stars than larger ones; the Sun is in the top 10% by mass. The median size of stars in our galaxy is probably less than half the mass of the Sun. The Sun is personified in many mythologies: the Greeks called it [|Helios] and the Romans called it [|Sol]. The Sun is, at present, about 70% [|hydrogen] and 28% [|helium] by [|mass] everything else ("[|metals]") amounts to less than 2%. This changes slowly over time as the Sun converts hydrogen to helium in its core. The outer layers of the Sun exhibit //differential rotation//: at the equator the surface rotates once every 25.4 days; near the poles it's as much as 36 days. This odd behavior is due to the fact that the Sun is not a solid body like the [|Earth]. Similar effects are seen in the [|gas planets]. The differential rotation extends considerably down into the interior of the Sun but the core of the Sun rotates as a solid body. Conditions at the Sun's **core** (approximately the inner 25% of its radius) are extreme. The [|temperature] is 15.6 million Kelvin and the pressure is 250 billion [|atmospheres]. At the center of the core the Sun's density is more than 150 times that of water. The Sun's power (about 386 billion [|billion] Mercury is the closest planet to the [|Sun] and the eighth largest. Mercury is slightly smaller in diameter than the moons [|Ganymede] and [|Titan] but more than twice as massive. [|orbit]: 57,910,000 km (0.38 [|AU]) from Sun [|diameter]: 4,880 km [|mass]: 3.30e23

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the seventh largest: [|orbit]: 227,940,000 km (1.52 [|AU]) from [|Sun] [|diameter]: 6,794 km [|mass]: 6.4219e23 kg

[|Mars] (Greek: [|Ares]) is the god of War. The planet probably got this name due to its red color; Mars is sometimes referred to as the Red Planet. (An interesting side note: the Roman god Mars was a god of agriculture before becoming associated with the Greek Ares; those in favor of colonizing and terraforming Mars may prefer this symbolism.) The name of the [|month]March derives from Mars. Mars has been known since prehistoric times. Of course, it has been extensively studied with ground-based [|observatories]. But even very large telescopes find Mars a difficult target, it's just too small. It is still a favorite of [|science fiction] writers as the most favorable place in the Solar System (other than Earth!) for human habitation. But the famous "canals" "seen" by [|Lowell] and others were, unfortunately, just as imaginary as [|Barsoomian] princesses. Viking 2 Landing Site Pathfinder Landing Site The first spacecraft to visit Mars was [|Mariner 4] in 1965. Several others followed including [|Mars 2], the first spacecraft to land on Mars and the two [|Viking] landers in 1976. Ending a long 20 year hiatus, [|Mars Pathfinder] landed successfully on Mars on 1997 July 4. In 2004 the [|Mars Expedition Rovers] "Spirit" and "Opportunity" landed on Mars sending back geologic data and many pictures; they are still operating after more than three years on Mars. In 2008, [|Phoenix] landed in the northern plains to search for water. Three Mars orbiters ([|Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter], [|Mars Odyssey], and [|Mars Express]) are also currently in operation. Mars' orbit is significantly elliptical. One result of this is a temperature variation of about 30 C at the subsolar point between aphelion and perihelion. This has a major influence on [|Mars' climate]. While the average temperature on Mars is about 218 K (-55 C, -67 F), Martian surface temperatures range widely from as little as 140 K (-133 C, -207 F) at the winter pole to almost 300 K (27 C, 80 F) on the day side during summer. Though Mars is much smaller than [|Earth], its surface area is about the same as the land surface area of [|Earth]. Olympus Mons Mars has some of the most highly varied and interesting terrain of any of the [|terrestrial] planets, Read more about [|Mars l Mars facts, pictures and information.] by [|nineplanets.org]

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and by far the largest. Jupiter is more than twice as [|massive] as all the other planets combined (the mass of Jupiter is 318 times that of Earth). [|orbit]: 778,330,000 km (5.20 [|AU]) from Sun [|diameter]: 142,984 km (equatorial) [|mass]: 1.900e27 kg

[|Jupiter] (a.k.a. Jove; Greek [|Zeus]) was the King of the Gods, the ruler of Olympus and the patron of the Roman state. Zeus was the son of [|Cronus](Saturn). Jupiter is the fourth [|brightest] object in the sky (after the [|Sun], the [|Moon] and [|Venus]). It has been known since prehistoric times as a bright "wandering star". But in 1610 when [|Galileo] first pointed a telescope at the sky he [|discovered] Jupiter's four large moons [|Io], [|Europa], [|Ganymede] and [|Callisto] (now known as the **[|Galilean]** moons) and recorded their motions back and forth around Jupiter. This was the first [|discovery] of a center of motion not apparently centered on the Earth. It was a major point in favor of [|Copernicus]'s [|heliocentric] theory of the motions of the planets (along with other new evidence from his telescope: the phases of [|Venus] and the mountains on the [|Moon]). Galileo's outspoken support of the Copernican theory got him in trouble with the [|Inquisition]. Today anyone can repeat Galileo's observations (without fear of retribution :-) using binoculars or an inexpensive telescope. Jupiter was first visited by [|Pioneer 10] in 1973 and later by [|Pioneer 11], [|Voyager 1], [|Voyager 2] and [|Ulysses]. The spacecraft [|Galileo] orbited Jupiter for eight years. It is still regularly observed by the [|Hubble Space Telescope]. The [|gas planets] do not have solid surfaces, their gaseous material simply gets denser with depth (the radii and diameters quoted for the planets are for levels corresponding to a pressure of 1 [|atmosphere).]What we see when looking at these planets is the tops of clouds high in their atmospheres (slightly above the 1 atmosphere level). Jupiter is about 90% [|hydrogen] and 10% [|helium] (by numbers of atoms, 75/25% by mass) with traces of methane, water, ammonia and "rock". This is very close to the composition of the primordial [|Solar Nebula] from which the entire solar system was formed. [|Saturn] has a similar composition, but [|Uranus] and [|Neptune]have much less hydrogen and helium. Our knowledge of the interior of Jupiter (and the other gas planets) is highly indirect and likely to remain so for some time. (The data from [|Galileo]'s atmospheric [|probe] goes down only about 150 km below the cloud tops.) Read more about [|Jupiter l Jupiter facts, pictures and information.] by [|nineplanets.org] Uranus is the seventh planet from the [|Sun] and the third largest (by diameter). Uranus is larger in diameter but smaller in mass than [|Neptune]. [|orbit]: 2,870,990,000 km (19.218 [|AU]) from Sun [|diameter]: 51,118 km (equatorial) [|mass]: 8.683e25 kg Neptune is the eighth planet from the [|Sun] and the fourth largest (by diameter). Neptune is smaller in diameter but larger in mass than [|Uranus]. [|orbit]: 4,504,000,000 km (30.06 [|AU]) from Sun [|diameter]: 49,532 km (equatorial) [|mass]: 1.0247e26 kg

In Roman mythology [|Neptune] (Greek: [|Poseidon]) was the god of the Sea. After the discovery of Uranus, it was noticed that its orbit was not as it should be in accordance with [|Newton]'s laws. It was therefore predicted that another more distant planet must be [|perturbing] Uranus' orbit. Neptune was first observed by [|Galle] and [|d'Arrest] on 1846 Sept 23 very near to the locations independently predicted by [|Adams] and [|Le Verrier] from calculations based on the observed positions of [|Jupiter], [|Saturn] and [|Uranus]. An international dispute arose between the English and French (though not, apparently between Adams and Le Verrier personally) over priority and the right to name the new planet; they are now jointly credited with Neptune's discovery. Subsequent observations have shown that the orbits calculated by Adams and Le Verrier diverge from Neptune's actual orbit fairly quickly. Had the search for the planet taken place a few years earlier or later it would not have been found anywhere near the predicted location. More than two centuries earlier, in 1613, [|Galileo]observed Neptune when it happened to be very near Jupiter, but he thought it was just a star. On two successive nights he actually noticed that it moved slightly with respect to another nearby star. But on the subsequent nights it was out of his field of view. Had he seen it on the previous few nights Neptune's motion would have been obvious to him. But, alas, cloudy skies prevented obsevations on those few critical days. Neptune has been visited by only one spacecraft, [|Voyager 2] on Aug 25 1989. Much of we know about Neptune comes from this single encounter. But fortunately, recent ground-based and [|HST]observations have added a great deal, too. Because [|Pluto]'s orbit is so eccentric, it sometimes crosses the orbit of Neptune making Neptune the most distant planet from the Sun for a few years. Neptune's composition is probably similar to Uranus': various "[|ices]" and rock with about 15% hydrogen and a little helium. Like Uranus, but unlike Jupiter and Saturn, it may not have a distinct internal layering but rather to be more or less uniform in composition. But there is most likely a small core (about the mass of the Earth) of rocky material. Its atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium with a small amount of methane. Neptune's blue color is largely the result of absorption of red light by methane in the atmosphere but there is some additional as-yet-unidentified chromophore which gives the clouds their rich blue tint. Read more about [|Neptune l Neptune facts, pictures and information.] by [|nineplanets.org]

Careful pronunciation may be necessary to avoid embarrassment; say [|"YOOR a nus"], not "your anus" or "urine us". [|Uranus] is the ancient Greek deity of the Heavens, the earliest supreme god. Uranus was the son and mate of [|Gaia] the father of [|Cronus](Saturn) and of the Cyclopes and Titans (predecessors of the Olympian gods). Uranus, the first planet discovered in modern times, was discovered by [|William Herschel] while systematically searching the sky with his telescope on March 13, 1781. It had actually been seen many times before but ignored as simply another star (the earliest recorded sighting was in 1690 when John Flamsteed cataloged it as 34 Tauri). Herschel named it "the **Georgium Sidus**" (the Georgian Planet) in honor of his patron, the infamous (to Americans) King [|George III] of England; others called it "Herschel". The name "Uranus" was first proposed by [|Bode]in conformity with the other planetary names from classical mythology but didn't come into common use until 1850. Uranus has been visited by only one spacecraft, [|Voyager 2]on Jan 24 1986. Most of the planets spin on an axis nearly perpendicular to the plane of the [|ecliptic]but Uranus' axis is almost parallel to the ecliptic. At the time of Voyager 2's passage, Uranus' south pole was pointed almost directly at the Sun. This results in the odd fact that Uranus' polar regions receive more energy input from the Sun than do its equatorial regions. Uranus is nevertheless hotter at its equator than at its poles. The mechanism underlying this is unknown. Actually, there's an ongoing battle over which of Uranus' poles is its north pole! Either its axial inclination is a bit over 90 degrees and its rotation is [|direct], or it's a bit less than 90 degrees and the rotation is [|retrograde]. The problem is that you need to draw a dividing line *somewhere*, because in a case like [|Venus]there is little dispute that the rotation is indeed retrograde (not a direct rotation with an inclination of nearly 180). Uranus is composed primarily of rock and various [|ices], with only about 15% hydrogen and a little helium (in contrast to [|Jupiter] and [|Saturn] which are mostly hydrogen). Uranus (and Neptune) are in many ways similar to the cores of Jupiter and Saturn minus the massive [|liquid metallic hydrogen]envelope. It appears that Uranus does not have a rocky core like Jupiter and Saturn but rather that its material is more or less uniformly distributed. Uranus' atmosphere is about 83% hydrogen, 15% helium and 2% methane. Like the other gas planets, Uranus has bands of clouds that blow around rapidly. But they are extremely faint, visible only with radical image enhancement of the [|Voyager 2] pictures (right). Recent observations with [|HST] (left) show larger and more pronounced streaks. Further [|HST observations]show even more activity. Uranus is no longer the bland boring planet that Voyager saw! It now seems clear that the differences are due to seasonal effects since the Sun is now at a lower Uranian latitude which may cause more pronounced day/night weather effects. By 2007 the Sun will be directly over Uranus's equator. Uranus' blue color is the result of absorption of red light by methane in the upper atmosphere. There may be colored bands like Jupiter's but they are hidden from view by the overlaying methane layer. Like the other [|gas planets], Uranus has **rings**. Like Jupiter's, they are very dark but like Saturn's Read more about [|Uranus l Uranus facts, pictures and information.] by [|nineplanets.org]

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the fifth largest: [|orbit]: 149,600,000 km (1.00 [|AU]) from [|Sun] [|diameter]: 12,756.3 km [|mass]: 5.972e24 kg Read more about [|Earth l Earth facts, pictures and information.] by [|nineplanets.org]

Earth is the only planet whose English name does not derive from Greek/Roman mythology. The name derives from Old English and Germanic. There are, of course, hundreds of other names for the planet in [|other languages]. In Roman Mythology, the goddess of the Earth was [|Tellus] - the fertile soil (Greek: [|Gaia], //terra mater//- Mother Earth). It was not until the time of [|Copernicus](the sixteenth century) that it was understood that the Earth is just another planet.

Mir space station and Earth's limb Earth, of course, can be studied without the aid of spacecraft. Nevertheless it was not until the twentieth century that we had maps of the entire planet. Pictures of the planet taken from space are of considerable importance; for example, they are an enormous help in weather prediction and especially in tracking and predicting hurricanes. And they are extraordinarily beautiful. The Earth is divided into several layers which have distinct chemical and seismic properties (depths in km): 0- 40 Crust 40- 400 Upper mantle 400- 650 Transition region 650-2700 Lower mantle 2700-2890 D'' layer 2890-5150 Outer core 5150-6378 Inner core Read more about [|Earth l Earth facts, pictures and information.] by [|nineplanets.org]

In Roman mythology [|Mercury] is the god of commerce, travel and thievery, the Roman counterpart of the Greek god [|Hermes], the messenger of the Gods. The planet probably received this name because it moves so quickly across the sky. Mercury has been known since at least the time of the Sumerians (3rd millennium BC). It was sometimes given separate names for its apparitions as a morning star and as an evening star. Greek astronomers knew, however, that the two names referred to the same body. Heraclitus even believed that Mercury and Venus orbit the Sun, not the Earth. Since it is closer to the Sun than the Earth, the illumination of Mercury's disk varies when viewed with a telescope from our perspective. [|Galileo]'s telescope was too small to see Mercury's phases but he did see the phases of [|Venus]. Mercury has been now been visited by two spacecraft, [|Mariner 10] and [|MESSENGER]. Marriner 10 flew by three times in 1974 and 1975. Only 45% of the surface was mapped (and, unfortunately, it is too close to the Sun to be safely imaged by [|HST]). [|MESSENGER] was launched by NASA in 2004 and will orbit Mercury starting in 2011 after several flybys. Its first flyby in Jan 2008 provided new high quality [|images]of some of the terrain not seen by Marriner 10. Mercury's orbit is highly **eccentric**; at [|perihelion] it is only 46 million km from the Sun but at [|aphelion] it is 70 million. The position of the perihelion precesses around the Sun at a very slow rate. 19th century astronomers made very careful observations of Mercury's orbital parameters but could not adequately explain them using [|Newtonian] mechanics. The tiny differences between the observed and predicted values were a minor but nagging problem for many decades. It was thought that another planet (sometimes called [|Vulcan]) slightly closer to the Sun than Mercury might account for the discrepancy. But despite much effort, no such planet was found. The real answer turned out to be much more dramatic: [|Einstein]'s [|General Theory of Relativity]! Its correct prediction of the motions of Mercury was an important factor in the early acceptance of the theory. Until 1962 it was thought that Mercury's "day" was the same length as its "year" so as to keep that same face to the Sun much as the [|Moon] does to the [|Earth]. But this was shown to be false in 1965 by doppler radar observations. It is now known that Mercury rotates three times in two of its years. Mercury is the only body in the solar system known to have an orbital/rotational [|resonance] with a ratio other than 1:1 Read more about [|Mercury l Mercury facts, pictures and information.] by [|nineplanets.org]